Toolkits for User Innovation A Literature Review

Transcription

1 Toolkits for User Innovation A Literature Review 12 th International CINet Conference Aarhus, Denmark, September 2011 René Chester Goduscheit Jacob Høj Jørgensen Integrative Innovation Management unit, University of Southern Denmark

2 Framework of the UseBox project (1) Programme Programme for User-driven Innovation (Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority, The Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs) Participants Microsoft Denmark Six SME s from various industries (both B2B and B2C) Three universities/education institutions Aim To test and use the user toolkits for innovation method in order to collect knowledge, experiences and examples of use of the method in practice Tested in a number of cases within the participating companies

3 Framework of the UseBox project (2) Findings 1. Substantial challenges in employing Toolkits for User Innovation a) Perception: Changed view on value of customer inputs and basic understanding of the concepts of Toolkits for User Innovation b) Procedural: Manufacturer-Active Paradigm is deeply rooted in the production and project management systems (limited room for iterations) 2. Differing challenges between employment of Toolkits for User Innovation in analogue and digital settings a) User identification (devoted group of users vs. less devoted) b) User activation (analogue workshops vs. online configuration)

4 Toolkits for User Innovation The goal of a toolkit is to enable non-specialist users to design high-quality, producible custom products that exactly meet their needs (von Hippel 2005) Repartitioning of tasks between user and manufacturer domain

5 Method (1) Based on boolean search string: toolkit* AND innovation* AND user*

6 Method (2) Coding of sixteen articles in Nvivo Deductive elements: Based on five attributes (von Hippel 2001) Inductive elements: Empirical field and user profiles

7 Analysis (1) Journals with more than one article in the sample R & D Management Journal of Product Innovation Management Research Policy International Journal of Technology Management Management Science Technology Analysis & Strategic Management

8 Analysis (2) Publication year of articles in the sample

9 Analysis (3) Article Empirical field Criteria User Trial and error - Appropriate User-friendly Module libraries Translation for profile/sample iterations solution space toolkit production Franke et al. (2009) Newspaper, fountain pens, kitchens, skis, and cereals (x) rather limited solution space X Austrian residents with an account Franke & Piller (2004) Franke and Schreier (2008) Franke et al. (2010) Franke and Hippel (2003) Hung et al. (2011) Jeppesen (2005) Jeppesen and Frederiksen (2006) Watch market Cell phone covers T-shirts, scarf, cell phones, watches etc. Security software User toolkits within Web 2.0 Computer gaming Computercontrolled music instruments (x) iterations with toolkit rather than manufacturer (x) iterations with toolkit rather than manufacturer (immediate visual feedback but no interaction) (x) There is no boundary between manufacturers and users they are the same (x) rather simple no choices beyond predefined variables (X) rather limited possibilities (x) rather limited in most cases X X X Management students x Management students X X Business students X X X (x) There is no clear boundary between manufacturer and users X X (x) the study focuses on the expert level users and not much on general users (x) initial developer is recruited (x) remains in the userdomain X (x) requires high level of expertise X X (x) not focusing on manufacturer but rather on other users to translate the modifications (x) transferable but this is ensured by recruiting the developer Apache webmasters Users of a social network website Computer games developers / computer game communities X X X User community within Computer- Controlled Music Instruments X X Online community managers Jeppesen and Molin (2003) Computer gaming (x) only in the user domain Kohler et al.(2011) Virtual worlds X Avatars within the virtual worlds Kohler et al. (2009) Eight case X x Avatars within the companies that virtual worlds operate in virtual worlds Piller and Walcher (2006) Prugl and Schreier (2006) von Hippel (2001) von Hippel and Katz (2002) Sports goods X X Customers of selected sport goods Computer (x) only in the user X (x) only for X Active users of gaming domain experts computer game Food service, (x) only one iteration X X X X Chefs (among software (input from chefs is others) programmes etc. incorporated into recipe) Food service, software programmes etc. (x) only one iteration (input from chefs is incorporated into recipe) X X X X Chefs (among others)

10 Attributes Discussion (1) Blurred boundary between Toolkits for User Innovation and other approaches (primarily customisation) Customisation User toolkits for innovation Trial and error iterations Often one-off modification of product/service Remains in the user domain Numerous Crossing boundary between user and manufacturer domain Appropriate solution space Limited to few degrees of freedom A substantial number of degrees of freedom User-friendly toolkit Essential Essential Module libraries Relatively few modules Substantial number of modules and significant design freedom Translation for production No translation necessary Personal tailor-made invention Transfer of insights from user domain into manufacturer domain Innovation

11 Discussion (2) Dominated by online/digital cases Iterations within user domain rather between user domain and manufacturer domain Innovation Toolkits are for advanced users and experts customisation/simple toolkits are for the non-specialist

12 Further research Potential in exploration of offline toolkits Need for clearer demarcation between Toolkits for User Innovation and other related approaches Need for exploration of actual interaction between the user and manufacturer domains Need for real democratisation of Toolkits for User Innovation (including non-specialists)